NTL BASEBALL: ATHENS FALLS AT TROY, 4-2, IN SEASON OPENER (10 PHOTOS) (2024-03-26)

Valley Sports Report
EAST TROY — Troy scored a two-out run in the home half of the fourth inning, and tacked on an unearned run in the fifth to pull out a season-opening, 4-2, win over Athens here Tuesday afternoon in NTL Large School Division baseball action.

“Obviously not the result we were hoping for, but there were a lot of positives that came out of this game,” said Athens coach Charlie Havens.

“Our pitching really battled and did an excellent job of stopping the big inning,” he noted. “(Nick) Grazul and (Carson) Rowe had a difficult time spotting their breaking balls, which typically comes from being too amped up, but continued coming up with big pitches when they had to pitch out of jams.

“Knowing Troy was good defensively, I tried to be aggressive on the base paths to score when we had the opportunity, and really ran us out of innings a couple of times,” said Havens. “I know I’ve got to be better in that aspect.

“Overall, I know what we need to work on to move forward and improve our game,” added Havens. “However, I did love our compete level. We played with a lot of hustle, which is part of the game I love.”

The Wildcats opened the scoring in the top of the first. Freshman Brendan Cooke worked a one-out walk, and sophomore Nick Grazul followed with a line-drive double to right field to put runners on second and third.

After Cooke scampered home on a wild pitch that also sent Grazul to third base, Troy starter Camden Allen registered a strike out, and a induced a groundout to escape the jam trailing just 1-0.

The Trojans answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning on an two-out RBI double by Brendan Gilliland to score Camryn Harwick, who led off with a base on balls.

Troy took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second without the benefit of a hit, taking advantage of three base on balls, and a fielder’s choice grounder that didn’t result in an out. The third walk, to Harwick, forced home a run to give the Trojans the lead.

Grazul, who started for the Wildcats, avoided further damage with a strikeout, and the third out coming on the base paths in a failed attempt to score on a wild pitch.

Grazul led off the top of the fourth inning with a single, and later scored on Troy’s second error of the inning to tie the game at 2-2.

Lincoln Chimic led off the home half of the fourth with a single for the Trojans, and scored on a two-out RBI single by Jackson Taylor to make it 3-2.

Mason Smith reached base on an error to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, and scored on a two-out RBI double by Clayton Smith to up the Troy advantage to 4-2.

Athens threatened in the top of the sixth inning on a one-out single by freshman Connor Davidson, who took second when freshman Kamdyn Wheeler reached base on an error, but Harwick, on in relief for the Trojans, registered a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam.

Troy loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning — on two walks and an error — but junior Carson Rowe finished off the inning with a strikeout to end the threat.

Rowe led off the top of the seventh inning with a single, but was instantly wiped off the base paths by a double play, and Palmer induced a game-ending groundout to preserve the win.

Athens returns to action April 3 when it hosts Wyausing.

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IN PHOTO 1: Athens sophomore Nick Grazul. … PHOTOS 1-8 BY CHRISTINA KREYKENBOHM and 9-10 BY JOE CARREON.